4 Tips for How to Use YouTube for eCommerce

Visual and eCommerce have always gone together, and the reason for that is very clear – when people shop online they want to get as clear a vision as possible of what it is that they’re buying. These days though just about everyone includes high quality images, 360 degree rotation, color variation options, and more. So what can you do to stay one step ahead of the game?

The answer lies with the king of all visual content platforms – YouTube! YouTube has over 1 billion unique visitors each month, over 6 billion hours of watch time per month, and a greater reach with US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network.

YouTube gives eCommerce store owners the opportunity to present a more detailed look into their products while also forming a more personal bond with their customers by giving a face to their brand. On top of that, there is also the ever present possibility of creating a viral video which could give any company the boost it needs.

In this post we will explore a few ways to employ YouTube marketing for eCommerce.

1) What Kinds of Videos Should You Upload?

There are a lot of great types of videos you can upload.

The first thing to consider is that you can really post any of your blog content on YouTube in video format. Meaning, simply film yourself or one of your employees visually explaining your content. Your YouTube marketing strategy does not need to be too complicated.

Here are some more ideas that you can easily employ:

How to use your products: Videos like this can be explanatory AKA how to actually use your products (in the event that your products are complicated), or can show, like you might have in a Facebook post, how your product can turn up or be used in everyday life.

Here’s an example of this kind of video from Apple:

How the product is made: This type of video can take your customers behind the scenes to show them how your products are made, where they are put together, who the people are that build them, and more. These videos are great, because they satisfy people’s innate curiosity for how things are made.

Inside look at the company: You can take videos of a regular day in the office, testimonials from employees, or whatever else you might think of in order to present a personal side of your company to your customers.

How the company was founded/what its purpose is: This kind of video is excellent for a company that is in the launching stage, or a company that is looking to define its brand image.

These types of videos are amazing for giving an up close and personal look into your company.

2) Optimize Your Branded Channel and Create a Posting Strategy

If you want to look good then you’re definitely going to want to set up an official YouTube channel for your eCommerce store. This will be your “base” on YouTube, like your blog is the base of your content on your website.

Make sure you customize the look of your channel to fit with your brand’s look. For example, look how Target built their channel:

Once your channel is set up, you’re going to need to start populating it with videos. Continuing the analogy with your blog, just like you post consistently on your blog, you should post consistently on YouTube.

Here are a few reasons that it’s important to post consistently:

It’s the best way to attract more people to your channel

When someone sees one of your videos, or finds your channel, you want there to be as much content available for them to browse

As you upload more videos, YouTube will rank your channel higher in channel search results

Basically, by uploading videos on a consistent basis, you ensure that your YouTube channel will be seen, and that your video marketing will therefore have the opportunity to be successful.

In terms of the frequency of your posting, once a month is a good pace to start with, then, once you get the hang of it, you can increase that to once every two weeks.

3) Use Annotations for Calls to Action

Annotations are the little text bubbles that pop up in the middle of YouTube videos. These annotations can be used as commentary on the video, or, more importantly for eCommerce, as a call to action.

What you can do in your annotations:

Include a link to the product page for a video related to a product. You can use text like, “Check out (insert product name) HERE!”

Include a link to your homepage.

Direct viewers to related videos that will bring them closer to making a purchase.

Here’s a great video from YouTube explaining how you can use annotations:

These calls to action can be the little push that viewers need after watching your videos to get them to become customers.

4) Give Your Videos a Viral Boost with FameBit

FameBit is a market place that makes it super simple for brands to find, hire, and work with YouTube influencers and stars for product and service endorsements such as product reviews, tutorials, hauls, and other promotional videos!

Here are just a few of the advantages of using FameBit to tap into the viral potential of YouTube:

Opportunity to grow your audience and brand awareness organically

Get high quality endorsement videos about your brand

Work directly with the biggest YouTube stars

All for a fraction of the cost of talent agencies or MCNs

Check out this example of a video set up through FameBit:

In this video Nume, a company that sells hair appliances, promoted their curling iron through the YouTube celebrity Arika Sato. The video has racked up almost 30,000 views! Think about the possibilities for your eCommerce store!

5) Use YouTube for your eCommerce Store

YouTube has created stars, entertained billions, and, most importantly for you, has helped countless business boost their companies.

Think about the hilarious Old Spice commercials, or the crazy and extreme videos that Red Bull features. Through YouTube, these brands boosted their image and gave their fans a face to associate with them. You can do the very same thing with your YouTube channel.

All this can be done in a few easy steps:

Think about the types of videos you want to upload

Create a content strategy based on this, and build your posting schedule

Use annotations in your videos as calls to action to encourage your viewers to act